Psych Central News » ADHDhttp://psychcentral.com/news
Psychology, psychiatry and mental health news and research findings, every weekday.Sun, 02 Aug 2015 19:43:51 +0000en-UShourly1Words of Praise Provide Special Benefit to ADHD Kidshttp://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/31/words-of-praise-provide-special-benefit-to-adhd-kids/88255.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/31/words-of-praise-provide-special-benefit-to-adhd-kids/88255.html#commentsFri, 31 Jul 2015 11:15:51 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=88255Interesting new research finds that positive reinforcement is especially beneficial for children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Although it was known that praise improves the performance of children with ADHD […]]]>

Interesting new research finds that positive reinforcement is especially beneficial for children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Although it was known that praise improves the performance of children with ADHD on certain cognitive tasks, experts were unsure if the results were due to enhanced motivation or because ADHD kids had greater room for improvement.

University of Buffalo (UB) researchers discovered a little recognition for a job well done means a lot to children with ADHD, more so than it would for typically developing kids.

And the reason behind the improvement appears to be related to motivational factors, rather than innate intellect.

“Our results suggest that the motivation piece is critical,” says Whitney Fosco, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology in the UB College of Arts and Sciences.

“Kids with ADHD showed more improvement because they are more motivated by the opportunity to gain rewards, not because they simply did worse from the beginning.”

The findings come out of a novel study published in the journal Behavioral and Brain Functions that collectively examined two leading theories on ADHD, combining what previous work had mostly looked at separately.

One of those theories suggests that lower-than-average cognitive abilities contribute to symptoms associated with ADHD, such as inattentiveness. The other theory favors motivation over ability, focusing on whether kids with ADHD have an increased sensitivity to reward.

“When asking whether the performance difference we see is the result of ability or motivation, this research has more of an answer than any study that comes before it,” says UB psychologist Larry Hawk, the paper’s principle investigator.

The results of the research conducted by Hawk, Fosco, UB graduate student Michelle Bubnik and Keri Rosch of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, have clinical parallels as well.

Behavioral therapy, which uses positive consequences to increase the likelihood of achieving certain behaviors, is among the leading psychosocial interventions for children with an ADHD diagnosis.

The authors point out that the benefits of reward are not specific to children with ADHD.

“The major difference is that typically developing kids usually perform well even when simply asked to do their best,” says Fosco. “But kids with ADHD typically need an external or an additional reinforcement to perform their best.”

It’s a tricky area of research area, according to Hawk, since some of the subjects are being tested on tasks on which they have a demonstrated history of poor performance.

There is also a degree of variability between the two groups.

The authors say that having a diagnosis of ADHD doesn’t necessarily mean that a child will perform poorly on any given task, and neither does the absence of a diagnosis mean that the child will perform well on any given task.

“You can’t say kids with ADHD respond more to reinforcement because they were doing poorly to begin with,” says Hawk.

“We showed that was not true. It was greater motivation to obtain external rewards that drove the effects we observed.”

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/31/words-of-praise-provide-special-benefit-to-adhd-kids/88255.html/feed0Teens with Insomnia at Greater Risk for Self-Harmhttp://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/30/teens-with-insomnia-at-greater-risk-for-self-harm/87886.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/30/teens-with-insomnia-at-greater-risk-for-self-harm/87886.html#commentsThu, 30 Jul 2015 13:30:56 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=87886A new study has found that teens who suffer from sleep difficulties, such as insomnia and short sleep duration, are significantly more likely to engage in self-harm compared to teens […]]]>

A new study has found that teens who suffer from sleep difficulties, such as insomnia and short sleep duration, are significantly more likely to engage in self-harm compared to teens with healthy sleep patterns.

The findings suggest that sleep interventions be included in treatments for teens with self-harming behaviors.

“Both health care professionals and other people should be aware of the fact that good sleep routines can prevent both stress and negative emotions. Sleep regulation is one of the factors one should consider to use in preventing and treating self-harm among young people,” said lead researcher and psychology specialist Mari Hysing, Ph.D., from Uni Research in Bergen, Norway.

The researchers conducted a large population-based study using data from the youth@hordaland survey. The data included self-reports from 10,220 teenagers who were 16-19 years of age in Western Norway. They answered questions on mental health and completed a comprehensive assessment of sleep and self-harm.

A total of 702 (7.2 percent) teen respondents met the criteria for self-harm, and more than half (55 percent) of those reported harming themselves on two or more occasions.

The risk of self-harming was four times higher among the 16-19 years old adolescents who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for insomnia. The researchers also found that self-harming was more common in girls than boys, and that cutting was the most prevalent type of self-harm behavior, Hysing said.

Several types of sleeping problems were found to be linked consistently to self-harming behavior.

“Insomnia, short sleep duration, long sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset as well as large differences between weekdays versus weekends, yielded higher odds of self-harm consistent with a dose-response relationship,” said the researchers.

Teens who had engaged in self-harm behaviors also showed higher levels of depression, perfectionism, and symptoms of ADHD. The researchers add that depressive symptoms accounted for some, but not all, of the connection to self-harming.

However, having symptoms of ADHD remained significant even in the fully adjusted analyses, the researchers emphasize.

To help prevent teens from engaging in self-harming behaviors, the researchers suggest interventions that incorporate healthy sleeping habits as a part of the treatment.

The research findings are published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/30/teens-with-insomnia-at-greater-risk-for-self-harm/87886.html/feed0Higher Risk of Autism, ADHD in Kids of Chemically Intolerant Womenhttp://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/21/high-risk-of-autism-or-adhd-in-children-of-chemically-intolerant-women/87134.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/21/high-risk-of-autism-or-adhd-in-children-of-chemically-intolerant-women/87134.html#commentsTue, 21 Jul 2015 13:30:55 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=87134New research finds mothers who are sensitive to many common chemicals are two to three times more likely than other women to have a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit […]]]>

New research finds mothers who are sensitive to many common chemicals are two to three times more likely than other women to have a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

A team of investigators from The University of Texas (UT) Health Science Center at San Antonio reviewed survey responses of 282 mothers of children with ASD and 258 mothers of children diagnosed with ADHD. A control group consisted of 154 mothers whose children had no developmental disorders.

The mothers responded to the Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory, or QEESI, a 50-question survey used by physicians worldwide to diagnose chemical intolerance.

The study appears in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

Researchers explain that people who are chemically intolerant often have serious reactions to common chemicals and some become too sick to carry out routine functions.

Chemical intolerance affects about 10 percent to 30 percent of the U.S. population. Developmental disorders such as autism and attention-deficit disorder affect one in six children in the United States.

“We are most concerned about how vulnerable the children with ADHD and autism were to environmental exposures,” said the primary author, Lynne P. Heilbrun, M.P.H., autism research coordinator for the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio.

“Mothers reported that their children were significantly more sensitive to everyday exposures such as engine exhaust, gasoline, smoke, fragrances and cleaners than their neurotypical peers.”

The children reportedly also were more sensitive to adverse effects from infections, medications, chemicals, foods and allergens, the authors said.

The authors said chemically intolerant mothers were three times more likely to report having a child with ASD and 2.3 times more likely to have a child with ADHD. The study did not assess fathers.

Mothers in the study who had a child with ASD or ADHD reported that their children had more illnesses or symptoms associated with chemical intolerance than control mothers. Among them:

children with ADHD were 1.7 times more likely than control children (ASD were 4.9 times more likely) to have had multiple infections requiring prolonged use of antibiotics;

children with ADHD were twice as likely as control children (ASD were 1.6 times more likely) to have allergies;

children with ADHD were twice as likely (ASD were 3.5 times more likely) to have had nausea, headaches, dizziness or trouble breathing when exposed to smoke, nail polish remover, engine exhaust, gasoline, air fresheners or cleaning agents than control children;

children with ADHD were twice as likely as controls (ASD were 4.8 times more likely) to have strong food preferences or cravings for cheese, chips, bread, pasta, rice, sugar, salt and chocolate.

“The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology issued a consensus statement in 2013 saying that there is sufficient evidence linking toxic exposures to adverse birth and developmental outcomes, calling for physicians to inform women to avoid specific environmental exposures even before conception.

“Studies that linked tobacco and alcohol to neurological disorders were available for decades before recommendations to avoid these became a major public health initiative. Physicians have the opportunity right now to become proactive in helping mothers protect their children from neurological disorders plaguing U.S. families,” Heilbrun said.

The authors recommend that all mothers and pregnant women adopt preventive measures to avoid potentially harmful chemicals. Preventive measures include avoiding exposure to pesticides, solvents, combustion products, and chemicals used during construction and remodeling.

As a result of the study findings, the authors urge doctors to use the QEESI to assess patients for potential chemical intolerance.

Senior author Claudia S. Miller, M.D., professor emeritus at the Health Science Center and a visiting senior scientist for the Harvard School of Public Health, said, “It’s important for everyone to know that doctors can use a readily available tool to identify more susceptible mothers and to suggest environmental interventions to help protect themselves and their developing children.”

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/21/high-risk-of-autism-or-adhd-in-children-of-chemically-intolerant-women/87134.html/feed0Shooting Mishaps Caused by ‘Itchy Brain’ Not ‘Itchy Trigger Finger’http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/18/mistaken-shootings-caused-by-itchy-brain-not-itchy-trigger-finger/87013.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/18/mistaken-shootings-caused-by-itchy-brain-not-itchy-trigger-finger/87013.html#commentsSat, 18 Jul 2015 13:45:51 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=87013A new study exploring the causes of civilian shooting casualties has found that mistakes arise from problems with attention — an “itchy brain” — rather than an “itchy trigger finger.” […]]]>

A new study exploring the causes of civilian shooting casualties has found that mistakes arise from problems with attention — an “itchy brain” — rather than an “itchy trigger finger.”

“Shooting a firearm is a complex activity, and when you couple that action with the conditions encountered by military and law enforcement personnel, firearms training can be even more complicated,” said Dr. Adam Biggs, a visiting scholar at Duke University’s Center for Cognitive Neuroscience.

“Cognitive tests and training offer some exciting new methods for enhancing shooting abilities, and thereby avoiding some of the most critical shooting errors, such as civilian casualties.”

For the new study, researchers recruited 88 young adults who played a simulated shooting game on Nintendo Wii called “Reload: Target Down.” The objective is to shoot armed people as quickly and as accurately as possible, while avoiding unarmed civilians.

The decision to not shoot is called “response inhibition,” which is what soldiers in war experience when they’re about to pull the trigger and then realize that their target is a civilian or an ally or when a law enforcement officer realizes that a person they thought was armed and dangerous is actually an innocent bystander.

After playing the game, the participants then took surveys that assessed their ability to pay attention, signs of motor impulsivity such as finger tapping or restless behaviors, features of autism spectrum disorders, and other characteristics. Individuals also took baseline computerized tests of their ability to withhold responses and to do visual search.

The scientists found that the more attention problems a person had, the more likely he or she was to shoot civilians in the simulation. Motor impulsivity, in contrast, did not predict the number of civilian casualties, according to the study’s findings.

The study also included some cognitive training to see what might make a difference, the researchers noted.

One group underwent training designed to prevent civilian casualties by enhancing response inhibition through a series of computer-based exercises. The other group underwent cognitive training unrelated to the shooting task to show whether any kind of training sessions would make a difference. Each group completed three hour-long sessions over the course of three days.

On the last day of the study, all of the participants played the shooting game again. The researchers found that people who had completed response inhibition training shot fewer civilians than they did before training. In contrast, the control group’s performance was unchanged, according to the study’s findings.

One potential concern about response inhibition training was that participants were simply trained to shoot less.

“That answer is a definite no,” Biggs added. “The people in response inhibition training shot more of the right targets and fewer of the wrong ones during their post-training simulations.”

In addition, the more attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms a person reported, the more likely he or she was to improve with response inhibition training. That was not true for the group that had training in visual searching as an experimental control.

The researchers now hope to determine which aspect of the response inhibition training made the difference. They will also try to see how long the training might last.

“This study serves as an exciting and important first step, and it opens the door to a wide variety of additional studies into shooting and cognition,” Biggs said.

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/18/mistaken-shootings-caused-by-itchy-brain-not-itchy-trigger-finger/87013.html/feed0REM Sleep Can Be Critical to Memory Formation in Young Brainshttp://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/06/rem-sleep-can-be-critical-to-memory-formation-in-young-brains/86499.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/06/rem-sleep-can-be-critical-to-memory-formation-in-young-brains/86499.html#commentsMon, 06 Jul 2015 13:30:18 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=86499Rapid eye movement or REM sleep actively converts waking experiences into lasting memories and abilities in young brains, according to new research. Washington State University researchers say the finding expands […]]]>

Rapid eye movement or REM sleep actively converts waking experiences into lasting memories and abilities in young brains, according to new research.

Washington State University researchers say the finding expands the understanding of children’s sleep needs and calls into question the increasing use of REM-disrupting medications such as stimulants and antidepressants.

The National Institutes of Health-funded study appears in the journal Science Advances.

Professor of medical sciences Dr. Marcos Frank of Washington State University said scientists have known that infant animals spend much of their early life in REM sleep, but little was understood about the actual nuts and bolts of REM’s ability to change or recombine memories.

Providing new insights, Frank and his colleagues documented the effects of sleep on vision development in young animals. The researchers found that brain circuits change in the visual cortex as animals explore the world around them, but that REM sleep is required to make those changes “stick.”

The scientists showed that the changes are locked in by ERK, an enzyme that is activated only during REM sleep.

“REM sleep acts like the chemical developer in old-fashioned photography to make traces of experience more permanent and focused in the brain,” said Frank.

“Experience is fragile,” he said. “These traces tend to vanish without REM sleep and the brain basically forgets what it saw.”

Frank said young brains, including those of human children, go through critical periods of plasticity, or remodeling, when vision, speech, language, motor skills, social skills, and other higher cognitive functions are developed.

The study suggests that during these periods, REM sleep helps growing brains adjust the strength or number of their neuronal connections to match the input they receive from their environment, he said.

The new revelations do have historical antecedents.

In the 1960s, Frank said surgeons noticed that delayed removal of congenital cataracts in children resulted in severe problems such as double vision and the inability to align the eyes.

“The visual cortex is very sensitive to information it is receiving and there are critical periods for its development,” he said. “If vision is blocked at these stages, then problems result.”

Researchers used a model based on that finding to determine the specific effects of REM sleep on vision development. Animals had a patch placed over one eye and their brain activity was monitored both while awake and during sleep.

While in REM sleep, the animals were awakened intermittently by gentle tapping on their enclosures. Controls were awakened during non-REM sleep.

Analyses showed that normal vision did not develop in animals experiencing a REM sleep deficit.

“Without REM sleep, permanent plastic changes to the visual cortex did not occur and the ERK enzyme did not activate,” said Frank.

Previously, the researchers had determined that ERK works by turning neuronal genes into proteins, which solidify the brain changes.

Frank was surprised to also discover brain activity patterns occurring in REM sleep that were similar to those seen when the animals were awake.

“It’s as if the neurons were dreaming of their waking experience,” he said.

“This is the first time these similar events have been reported to occur in the developing brain during REM sleep,” said Frank. “Up till now, there has not been strong evidence to show that waking experience reappears during REM sleep.”

He said REM sleep may be important for the development of other parts of the brain beyond the visual cortex and its effects may continue throughout a lifetime.

The study “has big implications for our understanding of sleep in children,” said Frank.

“There is a lot of data accumulating that says the amount of sleep a child gets impacts his/her ability to do well in school,” he said. “This study helps explain why this might be, and why we should be cautious about restricting sleep in our children.

“We know there are different times in a child’s development when sleep needs increase — they are very high in babies but also in adolescents when their brains are changing rapidly,” he said.

“Also, it is becoming more common for pediatricians to give compounds that affect brain activity earlier in life, not just Ritalin for attention deficit disorder, but also antidepressants and other drugs,” said Frank.

“The fact is, we have very little pre-clinical research data to tell us what these drugs are doing to developing brains in both the short and long term,” he said.

“Almost all of these compounds can potentially suppress sleep and REM sleep in particular. REM sleep is very fragile — it can be inhibited by drugs very easily,” he said.

Proactive new UK research has discovered that modifications to the classroom can improve academic outcomes for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) potentially reducing the need for medications.

Medications are often used for children with ADHD as they are typically restless, act without thinking, and struggle to concentrate — the actions causes particular problems for them and for others in school.

A systematic review was led by the University of Exeter Medical School with experts concluding that non-drug interventions in schools may be effective in improving academic outcomes measured by performance in standardized tests for children with ADHD.

The team found 54 studies (39 randomized controlled trials and 15 non randomized studies) that tested many different ways of supporting these children.

Researchers found several strategies can be used to help support an ADHD child. For one, the use of daily report cards — completed by teachers and parents — help provide the child consistent and regular feedback. Another method is to provide study and organizational skills training which can help children achieve better attainment levels, reduce hyperactive behavior, and increase attention.

Remarkably the research, published in the journal Health Technology Assessment, found so many different types of strategies, and so many different combination of approaches, that it was impossible to clearly identify what works best.

As a result, the researchers have called for more standardized assessment to make future research outcomes more meaningful.

The systematic review, which involved collaborators at Kings College London and the Hong Kong Institute of Education, looked at all available and relevant research published between 1980 and 2013.

They examined the following different areas that are important to supporting children with ADHD in schools:

The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of school-based interventions for children with or at risk of ADHD;

The attitudes and experiences of children, teachers, parents and others using ADHD interventions in school settings;

The experience or culture of dealing with ADHD in school among pupils, their parents and teachers.

From the review, researchers did not discover studies of cost-effectiveness — an area that needs to be addressed in the future. They did find studies of attitudes and experience that suggest differences in beliefs about ADHD can create tensions in relationships between teachers, pupils and parents that may be significant barriers to its effective treatment.

In conclusion, the review suggests that education of school staff as well as the public around ADHD would help to break down preconceptions and stigma, and that classroom / school culture as well as individualized support for children with ADHD may make the support offered more or less effective.

Professor Tamsin Ford, from the University of Exeter Medical School, led the study, which involved collaborators from Kings College London and the Hong Kong Institute for Education.

She said: “There is strong evidence for the effectiveness of drugs for children with ADHD, but not all children can tolerate them or want to take them. ADHD can be disruptive to affected children as well as the classroom overall, but our study shows that effective psychological and behavioral management may make a significant improvement to children’s ability to cope with school.

“While this is encouraging, it’s not possible to give definitive guidance on what works because of variations between the strategies tested, and the design and analysis of the studies that we found. We now need more rigorous evaluation, with a focus on what works, for whom and in which contexts.

“Gaps in current research present opportunities to develop and test standardized interventions and research tools, and agree on gold standard outcome measure to provide answers to both schools and families.

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/03/simple-changes-to-classroom-procedures-helps-adhd-kids/86415.html/feed0Docs Prescribe More Anti-psychotics for Boyshttp://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/03/docs-prescribe-more-anti-psychotics-for-boys/86409.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/03/docs-prescribe-more-anti-psychotics-for-boys/86409.html#commentsFri, 03 Jul 2015 11:15:18 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=86409A new NIH study looks, for the first time, at antipsychotic prescriptions patterns in America. Researchers discovered boys are more likely than girls to receive a prescription for antipsychotic medication […]]]>

A new NIH study looks, for the first time, at antipsychotic prescriptions patterns in America.

Researchers discovered boys are more likely than girls to receive a prescription for antipsychotic medication regardless of age. Approximately 1.5 percent of boys ages 10-18 received an antipsychotic prescription in 2010, although the percentage falls by nearly half after age 19.

Antipsychotic were prescribed most often for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among youth ages one to 18. Depression was the most common diagnosis among young adults ages 19-24 for receiving antipsychotics.

Despite concerns over the rising use of antipsychotic drugs to treat young people, little has been known about trends and usage patterns in the United States before this latest research.

“No prior study has had the data to look at age patterns in antipsychotic use among children the way we do here,” said co-author Michael Schoenbaum, Ph.D., senior advisor for mental health services, epidemiology and economics at NIMH.

“What’s especially important is the finding that around 1.5 percent of boys aged 10-18 are on antipsychotics, and then this rate abruptly falls by half, as adolescents become young adults.”

“Antipsychotics should be prescribed with care,” says Schoenbaum. “They can adversely affect both physical and neurological function and some of their adverse effects can persist even after the medication is stopped.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved antipsychotics for children with certain disorders, particularly bipolar disorder, psychosis/schizophrenia, and autism.

However, the research team found that the medication use patterns do not match the illness patterns. The mismatch means that many antipsychotic prescriptions for young people may be for off-label purposes, that is, for uses not approved by FDA.

For example, maladaptive aggression is common in ADHD, and clinical trial data suggest that at least one antipsychotic, risperidone, when used with stimulants, can help reduce aggression in ADHD.

To date, FDA has not approved the use of any antipsychotic for ADHD, making its use for this diagnosis off-label.

In the current study, the combination of peak use of antipsychotics in adolescent boys and the diagnoses associated with prescriptions (often ADHD) suggest that these medications are being used to treat developmentally limited impulsivity and aggression rather than psychosis.

Mark Olfson and colleagues worked with the IMS LifeLink LRx database, which includes 63 percent of outpatient prescriptions filled in the U.S. The team looked at prescription data for 2006-2010 and found antipsychotic use increased with age in both boys and girls.

They found antipsychotic use beginning at 0.11 percent in 2010 for ages one to six years, increasing to 0.80 percent for ages seven to 12 years and increasing again to 1.19 percent for youth ages 13-18 years before dropping substantially to 0.84 percent for ages 19-24.

In children ages one to six, boys were more than twice as likely as girls to receive an antipsychotic prescription (0.16 vs. 0.06 percent in 2010). This pattern held true for boys and girls ages seven to 12 (1.20 vs. 0.44 percent in 2010) before narrowing for the 13-18 age group (1.42 vs. 0.95 percent) and finally becoming more comparable for young men and women ages 19 to 24 (0.88 to 0.81 percent in 2010).

Among young people treated with antipsychotics in 2010, the youngest children, ages one to six, were the least likely to receive the prescription from a psychiatrist (57.9 vs. 71.9, 77.9, and 70.4 percent for the other three age groups). This is a source of concern, as practice guidelines caution practitioners on the use of antipsychotic medications for young children in particular.

Among young people receiving antipsychotic prescriptions, fewer than half had any medical visit that included a mental disorder diagnosis. That may be in part due to stigma about mental illness, or because primary care providers are concerned about reimbursement for treatment related to such diagnoses.

“In addition to having a new look at antipsychotic use among youth, one positive finding coming from this study is that around 75 percent of these kids have at least some contact with a psychiatrist,” said NIMH Director Thomas Insel, M.D.

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/07/03/docs-prescribe-more-anti-psychotics-for-boys/86409.html/feed0Movements Helps ADHD Kids Thinkhttp://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/12/movements-helps-adhd-kids-think/85637.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/12/movements-helps-adhd-kids-think/85637.html#commentsFri, 12 Jun 2015 11:15:32 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=85637New research finds the fidgeting and constant motion presented by a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may actually be a good thing as it helps them concentrate. Investigators […]]]>

New research finds the fidgeting and constant motion presented by a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may actually be a good thing as it helps them concentrate.

Investigators from University of California, Davis discovered movement correlated with accuracy on cognitively demanding tasks requiring good attention.

Researchers studied pre-teens and teenagers with ADHD and found that participants who moved more intensely exhibited substantially better cognitive performance.

The study, “A trial-by-trial analysis reveals more intense physical activity is associated with better cognitive control performance in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder,” has been published online in the journal Child Neuropsychology.

It is the first to assess the relationship between activity and task performance on a trial-by-trial basis in ADHD, the authors said.

“It turns out that physical movement during cognitive tasks may be a good thing for them,” said Julie Schweitzer, professor of psychiatry, director of the University of California, Davis ADHD Program and study senior author.

“Parents and teachers shouldn’t try to keep them still. Let them move while they are doing their work or other challenging cognitive tasks, Schweitzer said. “It may be that the hyperactivity we see in ADHD may actually be beneficial at times. Perhaps the movement increases their arousal level, which leads to better attention.”

For the study, the authors recruited 26 children with validated ADHD diagnoses and 18 who were developing typically and served as controls. The research was conducted at the MIND Institute in Sacramento, Calif. The participants were between the ages of 10 years and 17 years when the study was conducted.

The participants’ movements were measured by affixing a device to their ankles that measured their level of activity while completing a “flanker test” that requires good attention and the ability to inhibit paying attention to distractions.

In the test, the child is asked to focus on the direction in which the middle arrow in a series of arrows is pointing, inhibiting their attendance at other arrows flanking the arrow in question. On some of the trials the middle arrow is pointing in the same direction as the flankers; in others it is pointing in the opposite direction. Arrows pointing in the opposite direction cause more errors in performance.

The accuracy of the participants with ADHD was significantly improved when they were moving, the study found. In other words, correct answers were associated with more motion than incorrect answers.

“This finding suggests that accuracy in ADHD may be enhanced by more intense activity or that when a child with ADHD is using more cognitive resources they are more likely to be engaging in physical activity,” the study says.

The study findings may change the way in which ADHD kids are viewed in the classroom.

“Maybe teachers shouldn’t punish kids for movement, and should allow them to fidget as long as it doesn’t disturb the rest of the class,” said Arthur Hartanto, a study coordinator with the ADHD Program and the study’s first author.

“Instead, they should seek activities that are not disruptive that allow their students with ADHD to use movement, because it assists them with thinking.”

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/12/movements-helps-adhd-kids-think/85637.html/feed0Game Software Can Help Kids with ADHDhttp://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/10/game-software-can-help-kids-with-adhd/85554.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/10/game-software-can-help-kids-with-adhd/85554.html#commentsWed, 10 Jun 2015 12:45:00 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=85554New research suggests a computer game can improve classroom behavior and improve social interactions among children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Researchers in China found playing a computer game that helps kids improve their concentration appears to enhance classroom skills and academic performance.

The software studied in the research syncs with a wireless headband that monitors brain waves during game-play. The software then adjusts the level of difficulty and scoring system in order to target and train attention control, working memory, and impulse-control.

This neurocognitive training was administered in case studies of five elementary school students in China and resulted in overall improved behavior, assignment completion, and relationships with peers and teachers.

“The present study implies that the neurocognitive training can result in broader and more socially meaningful outcomes than improvement of ADHD symptoms,” wrote study authors Han Jiang and Dr. Stuart Johnstone.

“Two reasons possibly explain the side effect. First, the increased attentive behavior in class and improved quality of schoolwork improved these children’s social status. Second, game-driven and task-directed features of the training increased the children’s confidence in doing tasks.”

Prior to the study, all of the parents gave their children ratings indicating problems in the categories of hyperactivity, inattention, and acceptance by peers and teachers. After the training, parents rated their children’s behavior at the normal level and teachers reported less frequency of ADHD symptoms.

In the study, four of the five groups of parents saw improvements in their child’s interactions with teachers and peers. Researchers found that increases in teacher acceptance, such as public praise and greater inclusion in classroom activities, resulted in improved peer acceptance.

Jiang and Johnstone commented, “These findings indicate that once the children have received positive support and technical aids, they can achieve dramatic improvements. The outcomes have provided the foundation for a large randomized control trial which is currently underway in Australia, as well as two further controlled studies in China.”

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/10/game-software-can-help-kids-with-adhd/85554.html/feed0Study Tracks Behavioral Meds for Down Syndrome Kidshttp://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/09/study-tracks-behavioral-meds-for-down-syndrome-kids/85514.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/09/study-tracks-behavioral-meds-for-down-syndrome-kids/85514.html#commentsTue, 09 Jun 2015 12:00:00 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=85514A new study finds that teens and young adults with Down syndrome between the ages of 12 and 21 were significantly more likely to be on psychotropic medications than children […]]]>

A new study finds that teens and young adults with Down syndrome between the ages of 12 and 21 were significantly more likely to be on psychotropic medications than children five to 11 years old.

Among children less than 12, the odds of being on a psychotropic medication increased with age for all classes of medications studied.

For 12- to 18-year-olds, the odds of being on a stimulant significantly decreased with age, while the odds of being on a medication from other classes of drugs remained stable over time.

“Variations in medication use over time in children and teens with Down syndrome suggest that the type and severity of neurobehavioral problems likely change over time, too,” says Julia Anixt, M.D., a developmental pediatrician at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and a co-author of the study.

The study is published online in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.

In the younger age group, the odds of being on a stimulant increased 1.37 times for each additional year of age from five to 11. This means that a nine year old would be 3.5 times as likely to be on a stimulant medication as a five year old.

These drugs are used as first-line therapy for symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This increase in use “may reflect increasing impairment in functioning due to ADHD symptoms as children approach 11 years. After that age, the use of stimulants declined with each increasing year.”

The researchers found the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a medication class commonly used to treat symptoms of anxiety and depression, increases as children and teens age.

Declining behavioral problems (outwardly disruptive behaviors) and increasing emotional problems, such as depression and anxiety, with age are also common in typically developing children and those with intellectual disability.

Use of atypical antipsychotics (AAP) peaked in the age range of 11 to 14, which is an age range that previous studies have identified as consistent with a peak in challenging behaviors in children with Down syndrome.

AAPs are approved for the treatment of irritability and aggression in children with autism spectrum disorders but are often prescribed “off-label” to target problem behaviors in children with disruptive behavior disorder and developmental disabilities.

The study found that the rates of AAP use in boys was higher than in girls for all ages.

Researchers reviewed data on 832 children taken between 2010 and 2013. All were patients at Cincinnati Children’s. The division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s is home to The Thomas Center, a specialized clinical program for the care of children with Down syndrome.

Researchers believe the review was insightful in showing that medical and pharmaceutical management for this special cohort can be improved.

“Providers must be more systematic in the screening, diagnosis, and management of mental health conditions in children and teens with Down syndrome,” said Anixt.

“Eventually, the American Academy of Pediatrics health guidelines for children with Down syndrome could be expanded beyond physical health conditions to include treating behavioral and mental health conditions, thus improving the long-term outcomes and quality of life of individuals with Down syndrome.”

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/09/study-tracks-behavioral-meds-for-down-syndrome-kids/85514.html/feed0Misuse of ADHD Drugs, Other Stimulants Begins Younghttp://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/03/misuse-of-stimulants-and-adhd-drugs-begins-young/85305.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/03/misuse-of-stimulants-and-adhd-drugs-begins-young/85305.html#commentsWed, 03 Jun 2015 12:00:41 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=85305While most stereotypes depict college students resorting to black-market Ritalin to help them cram for exams, young people are actually most likely to start misusing prescription stimulant drugs before college, […]]]>

While most stereotypes depict college students resorting to black-market Ritalin to help them cram for exams, young people are actually most likely to start misusing prescription stimulant drugs before college, according to new research.

University of Michigan Medical School investigators discovered the peak ages for starting to use these prescription drugs, to get high or for other effects, are between 16 and 19 years. The stimulant medications college students use are most likely to come from a prescription — either the person’s own or another person’s.

The finding comes from a new analysis of national data from anonymous surveys of more than 240,000 teens and young adults, which will be published in a forthcoming issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Experts say that each year just under one percent of teens between the ages of 16 and 19 start to use stimulant medications not prescribed to them, or to achieve a certain feeling. These drugs may include Ritalin — usually used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder — as well as prescription diet drugs and medicines that contain methamphetamine.

The findings suggest that education programs should start in middle school to keep more young people from starting to use prescription stimulants for non-medical uses. Non-medical use can result in risky side effects, including the chance of becoming dependent on an illegally obtained drug, and even hallucinations, suicide, or sudden death.

“We need to have a realistic understanding of when young people are beginning to experiment with stimulants, so we can prevent them from misusing for the first time,” said study author and University of Michigan Injury Center postdoctoral fellow Elizabeth Austic, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.S.I..

“To prevent someone from using for the first time is often more cost efficient and effective than trying to intervene once they have done it, whether a few times or for years.”

Her analysis used data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, conducted among young people aged 12 to 21 years by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration between 2004 and 2012.

Austic mined the data for the number of young people who reported that they had started using prescription stimulants in the past year.

Study findings suggest existing programs targeting college students may begin too late to make a meaningful difference in misuse of stimulants.

Austic notes that while most education and prevention programs around stimulant misuse have been aimed at the college population, her results show that respondents aged 20 and 21 had the same rate of starting stimulant use as those aged 13 and 14.

If a young person is going to start using stimulants, he or she is most likely to start in the late teen years.

Surprisingly, the study shows that at age 18, the rate of starting stimulant misuse was twice as high among young women as it was in young men. Prescription diet pills were the most popular stimulant drug misused by females, while Adderall was the most popular among males.

Non-Hispanic white and Native American teens also had a higher rate of prescription stimulant misuse overall than all other race and ethnicity groups.

“People have been thinking this is a college problem, but they just don’t realize how prevalent it is at younger ages,” explains Austic.

Improper knowledge of the action or effects of the drugs remain a problem among young adults.

Although research has debunked the idea that taking prescription stimulants sporadically can improve grades, teens may still seek this effect based on misperceptions. Or, they may misuse stimulants for the sense of euphoria they bring if taken in certain ways or doses, or even to recover from hangovers.

The current generation of young people may perceive Ritalin and other prescription stimulants as safe because they’ve seen their friends and siblings take them daily under a doctor’s care for ADHD.

But many carry a “black box” warning about side effects, and have very different effects on the brains of people without ADHD, and when taken with alcohol or other drugs. The combination of stimulants and alcohol can be especially dangerous because the drugs counteract the natural sedative effects of alcohol, raising the risk of risky behaviors such as violence and drunk driving.

“The earlier people begin misusing drugs of any kind, the more likely they are to develop drug dependence problems,” says Austic. “The fact that the peak ages for starting to misuse prescription stimulants are between 16 and 19 should be concerning to those who understand how drug dependence works.”

Based on her data, Austic is working with University of Michigan colleagues to develop an intervention that would help young people who are being treated with stimulants for ADHD understand the dangers of sharing their medicine with others, and the risk that others might want to steal their pills to use themselves.

Other research has shown that a quarter of adolescents who have a prescription for ADHD medication share or sell it, often because they’re pressured or bullied, and seven percent have had their medicine stolen.

“Ultimately, we need to see more interventions that are school-based and doctor’s office-based interventions starting in early adolescence, for both young people who have a prescription and those who don’t,” she says.

Information sharing should not stop with the adolescent as parents of children and teens who use ADHD medication should also be trained to understand the realities of stimulant misuse, and to monitor their child’s medication supply.

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/03/misuse-of-stimulants-and-adhd-drugs-begins-young/85305.html/feed0Just How Smart Are ‘Smart Drugs’ For Healthy Users?http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/02/just-how-smart-are-smart-drugs-for-healthy-users/85248.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/02/just-how-smart-are-smart-drugs-for-healthy-users/85248.html#commentsTue, 02 Jun 2015 14:15:14 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=85248Experts are highlighting the benefits and potential dangers of cognitive-enhancing or “smart drugs,” intended to treat psychological disorders but increasingly used by healthy people to gain an edge in performance. These include […]]]>

Experts are highlighting the benefits and potential dangers of cognitive-enhancing or “smart drugs,” intended to treat psychological disorders but increasingly used by healthy people to gain an edge in performance.

These include methylphenidate (sold as Ritalin and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) and modafinil (sold as Provigil, used to treat narcolepsy and shift work disorder). Both have distinct mechanisms, effects, and legal status, and trials examining short- or long-term use of these substances have shown improvements in cognition in various patient groups.

Writing in The Lancet Psychiatry, Professor Barbara Sahakian and Dr. Sharon Morein-Zamir of Cambridge University, U.K., stated, “A range of pharmaceutical substances, from psychotropic drugs to nicotine and caffeine, have been regarded by health-care providers, patients, researchers, and the general public to change, improve, and enhance mental processes.”

But the authors warn that governments, the global pharmaceutical industry, and national medical organizations must work together to clarify the harms and benefits of these drugs.

“We simply do not know enough about how many healthy people are using cognitive-enhancing drugs, in what ways and why,” they write. “Medical complications and potential for misuse are key concerns that could go unaddressed when pharmacological cognitive enhancers are taken without oversight from health-care professionals. The complexity of the brain and human behavior cannot be understated.”

Many of these drugs affect several neurotransmitters simultaneously, and can have opposing actions on the same neurotransmitters. Furthermore, the optimum dose for some brain systems may cause an overdose in other systems. “Hence, pharmacological cognitive enhancers can have a range of effects in the same individual, enhancing specific aspects of cognition while simultaneously impairing others,” the authors write.

A major issue in assessing these drugs is the benefits on cognition. Effects vary by drug, but are generally seen to be moderate or small in research studies.

For example, Dr. Dimitris Repantis of the Charite-Universitatsmedizin in Berlin, Germany, and colleagues found that Ritalin improves memory but there is no consistent evidence for other enhancing effects. Provigil, on the other hand, improves attention, and maintains wakefulness and memory in sleep-deprived individuals.

Writing in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Dr. Masud Husain of University College London, U.K., states, “There is no universal, standard battery of tests that has been agreed on, so comparisons across studies are not easy. It is not possible to compare effect sizes for different drugs if the tests used differ in the level of difficulty or method of measurement (e.g. reaction time vs error rate).”

Very few studies have examined the effects of repeated doses or long-term effects, which might be far more revealing and representative of the overall costs and benefits of taking cognitive enhancers on a regular basis.

It appears these drugs are being used to gain an advantage at school, university, or work, and for maintaining attention and performance when sleep-deprived or jet-lagged. Between five percent and 35 percent of students in the U.S. are thought to use them. But this could be just the tip of the iceberg, say the authors.

“Present cognitive-enhancing drugs have wide ranging effects and side effects and are not predictable,” the experts write. “We also know next to nothing about their long-terms effects in healthy people. Use among healthy adolescents and young adults raises a concerning safety issue of the effects of these drugs on the developing brain.”

They urge funders and policy-makers to “consider how best to promote rigorous scientific research in this domain that is socially and ethically responsible,” as “increased knowledge of the effectiveness and harms of pharmacological cognitive enhancers in healthy adults is clearly in the best interest of health-care professionals and the public.”

The use of these drugs may grow substantially and “reliable evidence is crucial for a balanced view on the risks and benefits of these drugs and to set out clear regulatory guidelines for their use.”

In terms of their legal status, pharmacological cognitive enhancers are often treated as a single class. But the experts point out that “a case-by-case discussion of regulation is needed.”

They believe that, because knowledge and opinions vary greatly among physicians, “national medical organizations should provide clear information and guidelines about benefits, risks, safety, and potential coercion to all health-care providers, and ensure that providers are aware of their availability.”

Finally, “accessibility via the Internet, as shown in other instances such as legal high purchasing (used for recreational purposes), is a growing yet poorly understood issue.”

The experts conclude that immediate action is needed to establish the long-term risks and benefits of these drugs, and to continue to develop novel, more effective drugs for patients with impairments associated with brain injury or neuropsychiatric disorders.

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/02/just-how-smart-are-smart-drugs-for-healthy-users/85248.html/feed0Common Pesticide Associated with ADHD in Boyshttp://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/02/common-pesticide-associated-with-adhd-in-boys/85245.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/02/common-pesticide-associated-with-adhd-in-boys/85245.html#commentsTue, 02 Jun 2015 13:30:33 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=85245Emerging research discovers a commonly used household pesticide is linked with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and young teens. Although the relationship was correlational and not a cause and […]]]>

Emerging research discovers a commonly used household pesticide is linked with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and young teens.

Although the relationship was correlational and not a cause and effect linkage, the finding that pyrethroid pesticide exposure and ADHD are associated, particularly in terms of hyperactivity and impulsivity, is important.

Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center report that the association was found to be stronger in boys than in girls and that inattentiveness was not associated with pesticide contact.

The study is published online in the journal Environmental Health.

“Given the growing use of pyrethroid pesticides and the perception that they may represent a safe alternative, our findings may be of considerable public health importance,” says Tanya Froehlich, M.D., a developmental pediatrician at Cincinnati Children’s and the study’s corresponding author.

Use of pyrethroid pesticides has been on the rise due to the banning of the two most commonly used organophosphate (organic compounds containing phosphorus) pesticides from residential use in 2000-2001.

The ban came about due to concerns about adverse health consequences and led to the increased use of pyrethroid pesticides. Pyrethroids are now the most commonly used pesticides for residential pest control and public health purposes. They also are used increasingly in agriculture.

Pyrethroids have often been considered a safer choice because they are not as acutely toxic as the banned organophosphates. Animal studies, on the other hand, suggested a heightened vulnerability to the effects of pyrethroid exposure on hyperactivity, impulsivity, and abnormalities in the dopamine system in male mice.

Dopamine is a neurochemical in the brain thought to be involved in many activities, including those that govern ADHD.

The researchers studied data on 687 children between the ages of eight and 15. The data came from the 2000-2001 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which is a nationally representative sample of the United States population designed to collect information about health.

The 2000-2001 cycle of NHANES was the only cycle of the study that included a diagnostic interview of children’s ADHD symptoms and pyrethroid pesticide biomarkers. Pesticide exposure measurements were collected in a random sample of the urine of half the eight to 11 year olds and a third of the 12-15 year olds.

ADHD was determined by meeting criteria on the Diagnosic Interview Schedule for Children, a diagnostic instrument that assesses 34 common psychiatric diagnoses of children and adolescents, or by caregiver report of a prior diagnosis. The DISC is administered by an interviewer.

Boys with detectable urinary 3-PBA, a biomarker of exposure to pyrethroids, were three times as likely to have ADHD compared with those without detectable 3-PBA. Hyperactivity and impulsivity increased by 50 percent for every 10-fold increase in 3-PBA levels in boys. Biomarkers were not associated with increased odds of ADHD diagnosis or symptoms in girls.

“Our study assessed pyrethroid exposure using 3-PBA concentrations in a single urine sample,” said Froehlich.

“Given that pyrethroids are non-persistent and rapidly metabolized, measurements over time would provide a more accurate assessment of typical exposure and are recommended in future studies before we can say definitively whether our results have public health ramifications.”

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/06/02/common-pesticide-associated-with-adhd-in-boys/85245.html/feed0Childhood Sleep Disorders Linked to Long-term Mental Problemshttp://psychcentral.com/news/2015/05/07/childhood-sleep-disorders-linked-to-long-term-mental-problems/84353.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/05/07/childhood-sleep-disorders-linked-to-long-term-mental-problems/84353.html#commentsThu, 07 May 2015 13:30:33 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=84353A new study from Norway suggests sleep disorders in young children can have lasting consequences. Many a mother or father have been challenged by a toddler who takes a long […]]]>

A new study from Norway suggests sleep disorders in young children can have lasting consequences.

Many a mother or father have been challenged by a toddler who takes a long time to go to sleep or one who wakes up many times during the night. Parents are often told that night waking is part of toddlerhood, and that it will soon pass on its own, but this is not the case for everyone.

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) conducted a comprehensive survey of nearly 1,000 toddlers and discovered serious sleep disorders in young children can have long-term effects.

The study shows that four-year-olds with sleep disorders have a higher risk of developing symptoms of psychiatric problems as six-year-olds, compared with children who sleep soundly.

At the same time, four-year-olds with psychiatric symptoms have a greater risk of developing a sleep disorder as six-year-olds, compared with children who do not have these kind of symptoms.

“It is common for children to have periods when they sleep poorly, but for some children, the problems are so extensive that they constitute a sleep disorder. Our research shows that it is important to identify children with sleep disorders, so that remedial measures can be taken.

“Sleeping badly or too little affects a child’s day-to-day functioning, but we are seeing that there are also long term repercussions,” says Silje Steinsbekk, an Associate Professor and Psychologist in the Department of Psychology.

Her previous research on the relationship between sleep disorders and psychological problems in children has shown that four-year-olds with sleep disorders often also show symptoms of psychiatric problems.

The new study, which was recently published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, shows that the correlation between sleep disorders and psychiatric disorders is also found over time and that the relationship is reciprocal.

Experts say that 20-40 percent of young children struggle with sleep in one way or another, but data is lacking on how many of them are suffering from a diagnosable sleep disorder.

NTNU researchers conducted diagnostic interviews with the parents of the children participating in the study. The interview was based on the DSM-IV diagnostic manual, which contains the official diagnostic criteria for mental disorders.

One thousand four-year-olds participated in the study. Parents of around 800 of these children were interviewed again two years later. The comprehensive study is part of a longitudinal study in Trondheim that examines the incidence, progression, and risk factors for the development of mental health problems in children. The project conducts follow-up visits with the children and their parents every other year.

“Previous studies of sleep problems in children have mainly used a questionnaire format, with questions like, ‘Does your child have trouble sleeping?’

“But what parents define as sleep problems will vary. In the diagnostic interview we ask parents questions until we are confident that we have enough information to assess whether a symptom is present or not. The information we’ve collected is more reliable than information obtained from the questionnaire,” says Steinsbekk.

However, what comes first? Can we say that poor sleep causes psychiatric problems — or do psychiatric problems cause poor sleep? The findings from the study suggest that the relationship goes both ways.

One possible explanation for this reciprocity may be that both conditions are biologically determined, by common underlying genetics, for example.

Another explanation may be that insufficient sleep creates general functional impairment, and that the risk of other problems therefore increases — in the same way that psychiatric symptoms often result in poorer everyday functioning, which in turn may negatively affect sleep.

Or, perhaps sleep disorders and mental health issues share the same risk factors. A child who shows signs of anxiety or a behavioral disorder may easily end up in a vicious cycle, where conflict with adults triggers anxiety and in turn leads to trouble falling asleep.

It may also be that difficult and negative thoughts steal both energy and sleep and make us restless and depressed if we fail to gain control over them.

“Given that so many children suffer from insomnia, and only just over half ‘outgrow it,’ it is critical for us to be able to provide thorough identification and good treatment.

“Perhaps early treatment of mental health problems can also prevent the development of sleep disorders, since psychiatric symptoms increase the risk of developing insomnia,” says Steinsbekk, stressing that this is something that must be examined in further research.

One type of sleep disorder is by far the most common — insomnia.

Children who suffer from insomnia struggle with falling asleep and frequent waking. Insomnia was diagnosed in 16.6 percent of the four-year olds surveyed, and 43 percent of these still had insomnia as six-year olds.

Insomnia in four-year olds increases the risk for symptoms of anxiety, depression, ADHD, and behavioural problems as six-year olds. After the researchers had taken into account the children’s psychiatric symptoms at age four, the relationship between insomnia and ADHD disappeared.

Similarly, children who show symptoms of anxiety, depression, ADHD, and behavioural disturbances as four-year olds have a greater risk of developing insomnia as six-year olds. When symptoms of insomnia at age four were adjusted for, the relationship between insomnia and anxiety disappeared.

Examples of other types of sleep disorders are hypersomnia, i.e. an extreme urge to sleep, and various cases of parasomnia, such as nightmares, night terrors, and sleepwalking. These conditions are uncommon, and the study also shows that, with the exception of sleepwalking, they are shorter-lived.

]]>http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/05/07/childhood-sleep-disorders-linked-to-long-term-mental-problems/84353.html/feed0Children with ADHD at Greater Risk for Binge Eatinghttp://psychcentral.com/news/2015/05/05/children-with-adhd-at-greater-risk-for-binge-eating/84259.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/05/05/children-with-adhd-at-greater-risk-for-binge-eating/84259.html#commentsTue, 05 May 2015 12:45:15 +0000http://psychcentral.com/news/?p=84259Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at much greater risk of also having a loss of control eating syndrome (LOC-ES), an eating disorder similar to binge eating in adults, […]]]>

Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at much greater risk of also having a loss of control eating syndrome (LOC-ES), an eating disorder similar to binge eating in adults, according to a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

The research, published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, demonstrates the possibility of a common biological mechanism linking the two disorders, and the potential for developing a treatment that works for both.

Although many children with ADHD lose weight when treated with the stimulant drugs typically prescribed to control it, ADHD has been also linked to being overweight or obese in this population, said study leader Shauna P. Reinblatt, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The reason for this link, however, has remained unclear, but experts have suspected a connection between the typical impulsivity of ADHD and dysregulation or loss of control over appetite and eating.

For the study, researchers analyzed 79 children between the ages of eight and 14 from the greater Baltimore area. Each participant underwent assessment that included objective measures and interviews.

The parents of the children also completed reports to help diagnose or rule out ADHD or LOC-ES, the diagnostic criteria for which are similar to binge eating disorder in adults. In both conditions, there is an inability to stop eating at times, even if one wants to.

All the children completed neuropsychological testing to measure how well they were able to control their impulses. For example, in one test, participants were asked to press a key as soon as a green spaceship appeared on a computer screen but refrain from pressing a key when a red spaceship appeared.

Children who had difficulties with this instruction were deemed to have more deficits in impulse control and vice versa.

The findings showed that the chances of having LOC-ES were 12 times higher for children with ADHD, compared with those without the disorder. Also, children who were overweight or obese and had LOC-ES had seven times the odds of also having ADHD, compared with overweight or obese children without LOC-ES.

When the researchers looked at rates of impulsivity regardless of an ADHD diagnosis, they found that odds of having LOC-ES rose along with increases in scores on two different tests for impulsivity.

The results suggest a connection between ADHD and disinhibited eating, although Reinblatt said the roots of the underlying connection remain unknown and need further research.

Children with ADHD who also have LOC-ES might suffer from a stronger form of ADHD marked by more impulsive behavior that particularly manifests in their eating patterns, Reinblatt said. Another hypothesis is that children with both ADHD and LOC-ES might have a shared underlying risk factor, such as a genetic predisposition to impulsivity.

Reinblatt suggested that clinicians should screen for both ADHD and disinhibited eating behaviors, such as LOC-ES.

“Our findings underscore the need for developing new treatment strategies that could help target disinhibited eating in kids who have both ADHD and LOC-ES,” she said.